New Landbay survey reveals significant shift in BTL mortgage preferences
Buy-to-let landlords in the UK are increasingly opting for the stability of five-year fixed rate mortgages, according to recent survey data from Landbay.
The survey, which gauged the preferences of landlords planning to remortgage, found that 71% intend to choose a five-year fixed rate mortgage – a significant rise from 49% in Landbay’s previous survey conducted last year.
In contrast, the proportion of landlords planning to select a two-year fixed rate has decreased to 20%, down from one-third in the earlier survey.
Longer-term fixed rate mortgages of seven or 10 years have also seen a modest increase in popularity, with 6% of landlords expressing a preference for this option, up from 4% last year.
Meanwhile, variable tracker rate mortgages have fallen out of favour, with only 3% of landlords indicating they would choose this product, a sharp decline from 14% in 2023.
Among those favouring a five-year fixed rate, the majority (71%) operate within limited companies. Landlords with portfolios of four to 10 properties constituted the largest group opting for this mortgage type, at 42%, followed by nearly a quarter (24%) of landlords with portfolios of 20 or more properties.
“The topic of mortgage maturity is regularly discussed in the residential market, but we mustn’t forget the many landlords set to remortgage too,” said Rob Stanton (pictured), sales and distribution director at Landbay. “As we have seen in previous years, our data shows that fixed rate products continue to be the product choice for many, providing that welcome stability in a challenging market and climate.
“It is interesting to see a decline in demand for trackers, particularly as we enter a period where we could see further movement on base rate, and in turn on mortgage rates. This, along with a small increase in demand for longer-term fixes may highlight that some landlords are still a little way off from remortgaging and are hoping to make their move during more favourable market conditions.”
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